The agreement – which set limitations to Tehran’s uranium enrichment capabilities in return for sanctions relief – drew some cheers from the South Korean government and media. Following the deal, Seoul called on Pyongyang to follow Iran towards dialogue and halt its nuclear weapons program.

But experts say the accord may actually push North Korea in the opposite direction.

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Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, said the sole aspect of the deal that will interest the North Korean leadership is that Iran managed to keep its uranium enrichment capabilities.

“North Korea will keep refusing to budge, and this sets a precedent for why it doesn’t have to,” said Mr. Chang.

The accord struck in Geneva permitted Iran to continue enriching uranium at a low level – up to 5% – that Tehran says it needs for a civilian nuclear program.

In 2010, North Korea revealed a facility north of Pyongyang for enriching uranium, a second path to making nuclear weapons in addition to its plutonium reactor at the same site. North Korea has already tested nuclear bombs three times, with some speculating that its latest test in February may have been a uranium-based device.

North Korea refers to its nuclear arsenal as a “treasured sword” needed to defend itself from the threat of invasion by the U.S. Satellite images taken in August this year show North Korea may be doubling the size of its known uranium enrichment facility.

Han Yong-sup, vice-president at Korea National Defense University in Seoul, said China and Russia’s involvement in the Geneva deal might generate some concern for North Korea, but Pyongyang’s view of a nuclear program as a guarantor of the regime’s survival is unlikely to change.

Mr. Han noted that North Korea has cited the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s case as an example it aims to avoid. Mr. Gadhafi agreed to roll back Libya’s weapons of mass destruction program in late 2003 and was ousted from power eight years later in a popular uprising, assisted by Western powers.

“They’ve always said Libya made a wrong move,” said Mr. Han.

On Monday, South Korea’s foreign ministry repeated its call for North Korea to denuclearize but added that applying the Iranian deal to North Korea “faces limitations” due to differences in conditions.

North Korea says its ready for talks about its nuclear program “without preconditions,” but the U.S. and South Korea have said that Pyongyang must first show it is prepared to adhere to previous commitments to denuclearize before new talks can begin.

North Korea has yet to say anything publicly about the Geneva agreement.